The Front Room

Film: The Front Room

Year: 2024

Director: Max Eggers and Sam Eggers

Writer: Max Eggers and Sam Eggers

Starring: Brandy Norwood, Andrew Burnap and Kathryn Hunter

Review:

This is a movie that popped onto my radar when the trailer would play at the Gateway Film Center. The bit that I saw and heard; it sounded like a horror film. I did confirm that when I saw this was showing. I didn't even realize until figuring out in my schedule that this starred former pop singer, Brandy Norwood. I did catch this on its opening Thursday at the theater.

Synopsis: tells the story of a newly pregnant couple who are forced to take an ailing estranged stepmother into their home.

We start this off meeting our lead of Belinda (Norwood). She's a professor who teaches about mythology with a women's studies twist. We see though that despite being a full-time teacher, her classes are being given away to new hires. It feels like they are due to her being pregnant. The secretary to the head of the department tries to convince Belinda that isn't the case, but when the dean won't see her, it makes you wonder.

She is married to Norman (Andrew Burnap). He is a public defender who is trying to get a position with a law firm. They're expecting their first child. It does seem that they did have another, but it was stillborn. It is something along these lines. Belinda is struggling with wanting to continue to fight for her career, while giving up being a mother. That is until Norman gets a call. It is from his stepmother, Solange (Kathryn Hunter). His father is dying of stomach cancer.

Norman is secretive about his family and we learn that his parents are religious. They're in the vein of southern Baptist and it has turned off Norman to following faith. It doesn't help either that Belinda teaches more pagan religions, including how Christianity has taken different aspects to form their beliefs. She's ready to go see his father. He refuses though. That is until he passes away.

They go to the service that is led by Pastor Lewis (Neal Huff). It is during the wake that Belinda finally meets her mother-in-law. The reading of the will also takes place. It is life changing for the couple as all the money is left to them. There is a catch though. Solange must live with them until she passes away. Norman refuses, but Belinda thinks they should. This is a decision that she will soon regret.

Helping the elderly woman move in is an eye-opener. She takes over the front room, which was originally set up as a nursery for their child. It makes sense though since Solange cannot use the stairs. Belinda is helping her mother-in-law unpack and discovers that she's a 'Daughter of the Confederacy’. Solange pushes her religion every chance she gets. She also makes other changes around the place. With each inch she's given, she takes a mile. She also drives any wedge that she can between the couple, making their lives hell.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that I chatted with a buddy of mine who also saw this same day that I did. He didn't like this, which seeing his gripes he had a point. We had similar issues here, but I was just more forgiving of them personally. What I will give credit here before delving deeper is that this is an uncomfortable movie to watch in the best way possible and that is by design.

Now that I've set that up, let's explore our characters. We have two different mothers that are butting heads. I want to look at our lead first, Belinda. I don't think that it is an accident that a black woman was cast here. It is written into the fabric of the story, or if it wasn't, there are excellent changes made to explore this idea. She was raised by her mother. This gets pointed out when Solange makes a comment. It is a racist idea that is a stereotype and I'm glad that it is clarified. Belinda's parents were both academics. Her father didn't abandon her, he passed away at a young age. Belinda is an expert on pagan religions and I love that she is pointing out different things thought to be Christian but stolen from faiths that are older. As an atheist, I love that this is explored here.

Sticking with her, but shifting slightly, I think there's a message here about how academics aren't looked at the same as they used to. Capitalism comes into play here. Belinda's parents were able to support themselves in their work. Belinda and Norman can't yet. They're struggling financially. Neither have made it either. Belinda decided to start a family before getting her tenure. It is insinuated that her classes are being taken away because she wanted children. She can't prove it though. This is an interesting idea to set up and allow the viewer to decide if she is correct or overreacting. I did think that Norwood was solid in her performance as this character.

Let's then shift over to her counterpart of Solange. Her and Norman's father have money. She is a matriarch in a faith that is in 'control'. I love that she is playing the victim here. She doesn't know true persecution, but when she's asked not to do something, she carries on. She is a racist, but I do like that at times, she does seem to be trying to grow. Norman warns Belinda that she is a manipulator. His wife doesn't agree and wants to give her the benefit of the doubt. This gets uncomfortable when she intentionally urines and defecates. This forces them to clean up after her. It is interesting that Belinda is pregnant, then brings the baby home. There is a correlation there that Solange wants to be taken care of but using it to control them. The money is also there for that. Hunter is great in her role as she is a villain.

The last thing then would be the idea of pagan beliefs vs. Christian faith. My problem here is that I don't think this is executed well. It comes off as bashing religion. I agree with what they're saying, but I just think the message this is conveying falls short in its conclusion. There are things we see where Solange can heal. That makes me think this is saying that her faith is true and strong. Making her a villain who is gaslighting the couple confuses me. How things end doesn't make sense to me and it is bummer.

Let's then finish with the acting. Hunter is the best performer here with Norwood being right behind her. Burnap is fine as this husband who doesn't trust his stepmother. What I get confused by are the concessions he makes to her. It doesn't fit with the hatred he spews in the beginning. Something I will say here is that I hated all three of these characters, but the performances are good to get that reaction. Huff is solid as this pastor who sees the best in everyone. It comes off creepy and I think that is by design. The rest of the cast was fine to round this out for what was needed.

All that is left then is filmmaking. The best part of this for me was the cinematography and the framing. There is an arthouse flair here with angles that are used. We also get this great zoom in shot where Belinda is talking to the pastor. It is focused on a mirror and then it slowly shifts to where we can no longer see them, except as a reflection. I loved that. There are also other good things with mirrors where a cross or other religion icons are seen. That was a good touch. This uses effects on a limited basis. Those were good. There is the fear of the child not surviving and post-partum. I like how those results in hallucinations. With my wife being pregnant and things I knew from our first child's birth, which was good. Other than that, I like what they do with the soundtrack and design. That added another element.

In conclusion, I thought that this was a movie that had things it wanted to say. I appreciated that. My problem is that I think it fell short with driving its point home and the end was disappointing. There are still good story elements like Christianity vs. pagan beliefs. Something I didn't even bring up is that we have an interracial couple with a racist mother-in-law. The acting was good. Hunter led the way with Norwood right there. I thought that the technical aspects of the filmmaking were good. There's an arthouse vibe with cinematography, framing and visuals. This won't be for everyone. I thought that with tweaks, this would be great. It falls short though in the end.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10